Benedict Evans, a consultant at UK-based research firm Enders Analysis, has a great post describing the market for smartphones (and phones more broadly) in three charts and about 600 words. Admirable economy! Let me try to compress the argument even further.
If one looks at profits, only two companies make a substantial amount of money: Apple and Samsung. (Check out the chart, below.)
If one looks at market share in smartphones, Google's Android platform is increasingly dominant. The Android operating system is grabbing an ever-larger share of an ever-larger market.
"To put this another way, looking at 'smartphone share' or 'profit share' or 'platform share' all tell you something about the industry, but all three metrics mislead you if you try to treat them as a way to see who's 'winning', because 'winning' means different things for Apple, Samsung or Google," Evans concludes. And in one way or another, all three are making out all right.
One thing is clear from these charts, though, is who is losing, and that is everyone else.